Planes, Rooms and Automobiles How to save money on driving, hotels and flying this summer

Planes, Rooms and Automobiles How to save money on driving, hotels and flying this summer

Are you going on vacation this summer? According to a recent study by American Express, about 60 percent of you say, “Absolutely, yes!” Well, I’m right there with you. There’s a beach at the Jersey Shore with my name carved in the sand.

However, I know that between all the planes and cars and hotels and good food, it can be really easy to blow our budgets on vacation. And while some of you may take a “Hakuna Matata” attitude to vacation spending-“no worries, it’s just for a week!”-what you shouldn’t do is come back from a relaxing getaway having blown through your money before you blow through your month.

I’ve come up with some savings strategies for the three biggest summer-spending categories: driving, hotels and flying. If you follow these tips, you will be surprised at how far your dollars go.

Driving

According to that American Express study, more than two-thirds of vacationers (69 percent, to be exact) will travel by car this summer. If you fall into this category, you will have to budget for the cost of gas-and if you’re traveling somewhere you’ve never been before, you might not know where to go to get the cheapest fuel. Use a gas app to lead you in the right direction. Download applications like TripTik from AAA, GasBuddy and CheapGas to your phone. They all use GPS technology and volunteer spotters to help locate the cheapest gas rates across the country.

Next, if the car you’re planning to drive isn’t your own, there are a couple of things you can do to save money on your rental car. First, track car rental rates through Autoslash.com. This site keeps tabs on both rates and special discounts, so it can help get you the best deal. Keep your eyes peeled for rates that go lower than you initially booked; in the rental car world (like the hotel one) you can typically cancel and rebook if you find a better deal. Finally, try to book your car at an off-airport location. A recent New York Times article investigated and found that additional fees that come with cars from airport locations can jack up the total rental price by 30 percent or more.

Hotels

Hotel prices are up about 5 percent from a year ago and are averaging about $105 per night. If you’re not careful, this can eat up a bigger share of your budget than you were planning on. So before you do anything else, start tracking rates by using Tingo.com. If you book a hotel and the rate drops after you book, Tingo lets you switch to that lower rate. This is essentially giving you back the difference.

However, don’t spend all your time on the Internet. Lisa Gill, a senior editor at Condé Nast Traveler, recently told me that you can often get the best deals by picking up the phone and speaking directly to the hotel. “Ask the hotel’s on-site reservation office if there are any discounts to be had,” she suggested.

Finally, just as retailers (like The Gap and Ann Taylor) often give special discounts to those who have signed up for email notifications or who have liked them on Twitter and Facebook, hotels do the same thing. So if you know you’re traveling to Orlando in a few weeks and you’ve narrowed down your hotel options, like those hotels on Facebook or Twitter. “A lot of the best sales are largely unannounced, or are only announced on social media,” Gill said.

Flying

Ah, airfare-the bane of our wallets. According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, airfare prices increased by a whooping 11.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012 alone. Yikes! Now, fuel prices are projected to be coming down throughout the summer, which should help with some ticket prices. But to get some real discounts, you have to take matters into your own hands.

First, just as you did with car rentals and hotels, you should track prices. One of the best ways to do this is through Bing’s Airline Price Predictor, which will tell you if airline prices are going up, down or remaining as is. I really like this tool, because I often get frustrated at the way airline prices fluctuate, and that booking on a Friday can cost more than booking on a Tuesday or Wednesday. This helps you know when to book in order to get the best deal.

Finally, if you’re not beholden to a strict schedule on your vacation (and let’s hope you’re not-it’s vacation, after all), try to be flexible about your travel details. Sure, Saturday to Saturday is convenient, but if Tuesday to Tuesday is cheaper and your schedule can swing it, why not travel on the cheaper day? Likewise, if you’re not in a great rush, consider a flight with a layover or a flight out of an alternate airport. (Philadelphians, for instance, have been known to drive an hour and a half to Newark Airport in order to nab better deals.) Layovers and alternate airports might not be convenient, but they can save you hundreds of dollars per ticket.

By

|

July 9, 2012

|

Jean Chatzky is a leading personal finance expert, award-winning journalist and best-selling author. She is also the financial editor for NBC’s Today show and runs HerMoney, a site and podcast focused on women's relationships with money.